It's only in the black of night you can see the stars
by brucaschopia4evr
Summary: ""If you learn anything from me at all, then you learn from my mistakes. When you find the girl one day and you fall in love with her… do not ever let her go." That's the one thing he needed his son to know. Future Brucas AU.


His leg kicked out softly jerking him out of the slumber he had fallen into. Blinking a few times past the sleep, he wiped at his eyes. He readjusted himself in the rocking chair that he had fallen asleep in. His neck and back certainly hadn't agreed with the position he chose to sleep in. He quickly forgot about his aches as his eyes fell on the sleeping woman in front of him. Her hair fell in loose, unruly waves and her cheeks were still slightly tinted a rosy red. As her chest rose and fell, he couldn't help but to take in her beauty. Today, she had given birth to their son and he's not sure if he's ever seen her in such a beautiful light.

He was pulled out of his thoughts almost on cue by the soft coos coming from the hospital bassinet. Standing up quietly, he made his way over to the bassinet peering in. His son was extending his arms as he looked up at him wide eyed. William Keith Scott. His son…. He couldn't quiet grasp that he was a father, and this little miracle was his son. His mom had once told him that he would never be able to comprehend the love he would have for his child until he had one of his own. She had been right. It almost seemed silly how much he loved this little boy already. Reaching down, he scooped the little boy into his arms.

"Hey buddy." He adjusted him in his arms cradling him in his arms before sitting back in the rocking chair. "You just want to hang out, huh?" "

The little boy's crystal blue eyes stared back at him. He was sure it was the only thing he had acquired from him besides his last name. Will had Brooke written all over him, and for that he was thankful. He was gorgeous and he was reminded of that each and every time a nurse or friend gushed over his son.

"Ya know I didn't really have a dad growing up, but I did have my Uncle Keith. And he taught me everything I know. He was more of a dad to me than I ever could have asked for. That's what I'm gonna do for you, Will." He looked up to Brooke making sure that he was speaking softly enough before proceeding.

"I'm going to show you how important reading can be to your life. When you're reading, you're never alone. You can fall into this creative world and open your eyes to possibility around you. I want to you to the river court. It can be your greatest sanctuary if you let it. That space between where the leather of that ball glides through your fingers and the net… it separates you from any problem you might have. The game can change your world. I want to teach you to _do _good. _Be_ the best person you can be no matter who you might come across. You never know what impact you might have on someone.I want to show you that no matter what success you are ever able to achieve it means absolutely nothing without your friends and your family by your side. Those are the people that are going to be there for you whether or not you dreams come true or not. That's what I'm going to do for you, Will. I will _always_ be here for you. I'm going to be there when you shoot your first basketball and I'll teach you how to shave and how to land yourself a Ravens cheerleader." He laughs softly at this. "I don't care if you stumble and fall because I will always be there to pick you up. And the most important thing I want to teach you…" He pauses as his breath hitches in his throat and he puts his finger out allowing his son to wraps his tiny fingers around it. "If you learn anything from me at all, then you learn from my mistakes. When you find _the_ girl one day and you fall in love with her… do not _ever_ let her go. Don't make love more complicated than it is. Listen to your heart. It won't ever lie to you. You hold onto that girl and you fight like hell to show her how much you love her. You will regret every single day all the times that you swallowed your words or went against what you knew in your heart was true. See your dad was an idiot. Will, I can't promise you that me and your mom are going to work out. And I can't blame her for any of it. I'm not sure what's going to happen with us. But, I can promise you that I won't stop trying. I can promise you that I love your mom more than anything in this world besides you. I love her now and I've loved her from the moment I saw her on the beach after our winter formal and I will always love her. So, I'm going to show her that. I'll fight to show her that I am the guy for her. Hopefully, she'll see it, bud, because I really, _really_ want it to work." He realizes that he must have started to cry at some point because his cheeks are damp with tears. "And also don't be a big old sap like your dad. Your mom is way tougher than I will ever be." He lets out a chuckle as he hears a light giggle emerge next to him. Looking up frantically, he spies Brooke's reddened eyes looking back at him.

"I'm not sure I want to know the answer to this, but how much of that exactly did you hear?" He asked sheepishly as he stood up cradling Will in his arms before setting him back in the bassinet.

"Eh, kinda, sorta, just about all of it. You were right though. I _am_ tougher than you." She spoke through a raspy voice that would always sound so sexy to him. He couldn't help but to laugh as she lightened the mood.

"Brooke…" Digging his hands into his pockets, he looked up at him with his signature brooding look.

"Luke, do you know what scares me the most?"

"What?"

"I spent five years building up these walls to make myself forget you and to convince myself that I wasn't in love with you. I expanded Clothes over Bros because of _you._ I needed to get away from that ache I would get every time I remembered that I wasn't yours anymore. And for a while I got pretty damn good at it. And all the sudden we become great friends again and we had that night and you say those friggen Lucas Scott speeches…" She exhales sharply. "And all those years of protecting myself from you just vanish. None of it matters. I'm right back where I started. You scare me, Luke. This scares me."

He opens his mouth to speak before quickly closing it. Taking smalls steps of trepidation, he sits on the edge of his hospital bed and takes her hand in his own.

"Sometimes the greatest rewards come from doing the things that scare us the most." His voice isn't louder than a whisper and the corners of his mouth curve into a small smile. A few stray tears escape from her eyes as she wipes them away.

"Am I supposed to take a leap of faith and just ignore everything that's happened in the past? It's not just me I need to think about." Her eyes wander to Will's bassinet before falling back on him.

"Yeah, I guess I am asking that. I know that deep down in your heart you have faith in us, Brooke. I know that you know just well as I do what we can be… what we are. But just in case you don't have any faith left, I'll give you all of mine. There's not a single part of my being that doubts whether or not we'll work. I know that we can both go on like this. We could raise Will and we could go on and find other people who I'm sure we'd love. We'd be fine. But Brooke I've seen what we can be like together. I know what we can be like together. And I don't want fine. I want extraordinary. I choose us. Take all of my faith in us. I'll make you believe, Brooke. Whether it's today or tomorrow or ten years from now, I'll wait. I'll give you that faith. Just believe in us."

Tears are freely coming from her eyes now as she stays silent.

"Two boys and a girl, right? We're not done yet, Brooke Davis. Our dreams not over."

"You're so good with your stupid words." She laughs as she wipes her eyes free of the tears that seem to be infinite.

"Yeah well I need to balance it out with some Brooke Davis. People that are meant to be together always find their way in the end. So, I'm not too worried. That's what I believe in. And I know you do, too."

And just like that her dimples are revealed and a jolt courses through his body. He truly was an idiot. He's not sure how he ever let this girl go. Then again, he guesses that all the twists and turns in the road of his life were okay. In all of the confusion and confliction that clouded his heart, it led him to one very distinct place. It led him to this very point in time. And at this moment, he knew he was staring at his future; Brooke and Will… his family. After the long road, he sat here and knew with absolute certainty that he was in love with this woman.

"I love you." She spoke so softly he's not sure he heard her correctly at first. As the sheer elation settled in, a large smile etched across his features. Before he could process anything any further, he leaned forward kissing her. As they pulled apart, he rested his forehead against her own.

"If you need to hear why I love you, I could go on all night." He smirked as he looked into her eyes.

"You did pretty good." Smiling at her recognition of a past moment, he leaned in to kiss her once again.

A soft coo filtered through the room reminding him that Will was here. It reminded him that they were a family. And God, it felt so good.


End file.
